I wasn't a huge Skenes fan as recently as this summer because I didn't think he had a plus pitch, instead possessing a nice package of above-average stuff (92-95, touching 97 mph, 55-grade slider) as a durable sinker/slider type. But it totally works for him, and he made a ton of contact on the Cape and in the spring. ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel joined ESPN in 2020 to focus on prospects, the draft, free agency and more. I think he'll be picked by pick 25 and the upside is huge, but that specific worry is one of the most worrying ones I can have. Cross has held serve in that top group of guys for the past 12 months. 2022. Prielipp was a decent prep prospect who exploded once he got to Tuscaloosa and was quickly tracking like a top-10 pick. Here's the 2023 mlb draft order. . Campbell is another college pitcher with underwhelming raw stuff but premium ingredients (i.e., physical ability, command and three solid pitches) for the Cleveland style of pitching development where stuff can often be improved quickly. I literally didn't know Wagner's name in March despite living a few hours away from Clemson, while scouts were turning him in as a fifth- or sixth-rounder. Has worked for four MLB teams. 1 picks the Pirates could land. There isn't much argument about his above-average hit tool or pitch selection, and there is broad agreement that he has average-to-a-bit-above raw power with some feel to get to it. Cam Collier (17.7), 3B, Chipola JC (FL), Louisville commit, Hit: 30/55, Game Power: 25/55, Raw Power: 50/55, Speed: 45/45, Field: 45/50, Throw: 70/70. Young has a long track record of hitting, and a wide base of skills as the sort of player (safe, up-the-middle prep position player) that a lot of teams are looking for. Hit: 30/45, Game Power: 35/60, Raw Power: 65/70, Speed: 50/50, Field: 45/50, Throw: 55/55. Dylan Cupp (18.9), SS, Cedartown HS (GA), Mississippi State commit NFL draft questions for teams in the top 10: Will the Colts trade up? 14. 2022. There has been movement among teams to take a safe pick in the top 10 picks, then take riskier types later, and Green is running into that trend at the wrong time. Bennett has the look of a big leaguer, though the role is still in question. Pitched thru the rain (see last clip), worked fast, under control. Hit: 30/45, Game Power: 30/55, Raw Power: 60/65, Speed: 55/50, Field: 45/50, Throw: 55/55. Ferris still shows above-average ability at almost every aspect of pitching and could be a delivery tweak away from being a top-10-to-15 player in this draft class. He looked like a top-15 pick in one outing this spring (at Florida) but mostly a late-first to compensation-round pick otherwise because of his reliever risk. ESPN MLB Insider; Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. I get it, completely, and there's a lot of densely-packed talent above him, but those rankings are going to prove too low. In the draft, you have to be able to imagine a couple of years into the future and also lean into what your development excels at teaching. LuJames Groover (21.1), 3B, North Carolina State Facebook; Twitter; . 1d . Peyton Pallette (21.1), RHP, Arkansas, Velo: 93-96 t98, Fastball: 55/60, Curveball: 60/65, Changeup: 45/50, Command: 40/50. 2 Draft prospect fans 7 for Vols in Desert Invitational. Neal joins Cam Collier and Walter Ford as reclassifying from the 2023 class and projecting to go early. He has performed well, facing 20-to-21-year-old pitchers. Neto's swing is almost hilarious to watch the first time you see it if you aren't prepared; there are elements of a classic softball swing. There are a few big takeaways from this year's early edition of these lists: Nolan McLean (21.9), RHP, Oklahoma State Cameron Johnson (18.4), LHP, IMG Academy HS (FL), LSU commit Taylor is a classic advanced college bat who is well rounded but isn't a shortstop, with some debate over whether he fits better at second or third base. Jones (son of Andruw) has a real shot to be plus or better at everything with some 70s tossed in that are already present. And finally, while I'll delay including my 2024 and 2025 rankings until we get a few more weekends to see who makes big jumps, the top candidates to be top-half-of-the-first-round-type pitchers (cross your fingers for their health) in the next two classes are righty Chase Burns (Tennessee), lefty Hagen Smith (Arkansas), righty Brody Brecht (Iowa) and lefty Carter Holton (Vanderbilt) for 2024, while the early returns for the 2025 group point to righty Chase Shores (LSU) and righty Grayson Saunier (Ole Miss). 71. Lee was a fringe first-rounder out of high school but had a back issue that scared teams off from meeting his number. Stay on current site or go to US version. The upside is enticing, but there are also shades of Kameron Misner and Brad Zimmer, so he makes sense for most clubs in this range of the draft. Top 10 by Position. I'm totally sold on his plus makeup and that he'll stick at third base. 1 overall? Trent Caraway (19.2), SS, JSerra Catholic HS (CA), Oregon State commit 329m goal: Felix the only men's contender for Chelsea's Goal of the Month, UFC 285's Shevchenko by the numbers: It all adds up to domination, A battle for No. I felt similarly about Nolan Gorman and Austin Riley at the same stage, and they're all similar types of players. Kiley McDaniel's 2021 MLB draft rankings 2.0 -- Is Jordan Lawlar or Jack Leiter No. 54. 15. Teams now better understand why this fastball shape and arm slot work, and he's above average at basically everything he does, along with a sparkling stat line this year. Drew Burress (18.5), CF, Houston County HS (GA), Georgia Tech commit Florida A&M Rattlers. Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. Who will win each 2023 conference tournament? Hughes has been a college standout with solid performance and above-average-to-plus stuff for a couple years. 3 overall, followed by Waldrep (No. 99. Wallace was right there with Parada as two of the top unsigned players from the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft class who were set to be sophomore eligible. Misiorowski is a projection arm who exploded this year, sitting in the upper 90s with 20 command early this spring, then he started throwing strikes, and some scouts hung a perfect 80 grade on his slider. Miller is still a stuff-over-command prep righty, which makes him the riskiest subset of pitcher, but he got a lot better this spring, highlighted by a couple outings that had scouts raving. Hit: 30/55, Game Power: 30/45, Raw Power: 45/50, Speed: 50/50, Field: 45/50, Throw: 50/50. Both used mid-90s heaters with bat-missing life at the top of the zone and plus breaking balls to dominate their first seasons in the SEC. ESPN MLB Insider; Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. The self-proclaimed "Vanilla Missile" (no joke: he has merch available) reclassified from the 2023 class and flashes two plus pitches, but the quality of strikes and consistency of his stuff will vary. That he is a plus runner, is an above-average defender at short and has a plus arm also help ease that concern. Cole Carrigg (21.1), C/SS, San Diego State 1? 2y Kiley McDaniel. 66. Enrique Bradfield Jr. (21.6), CF, Vanderbilt. He draws some comps to another recent Arizona high school player in Cubs prospect Brennen Davis for his potential upside in baseball, though Robinson is still pretty raw on the diamond with limited playing history. Neal is a Dodgers-style hit-first backstop who could play other positions and has time to tap into his raw power more in games. That is a bit unfair, but it's something that is front of mind for scouts and there are some similarities between Dollander and Leiter. Walter Ford (17.5), RHP, Pace HS (FL), Alabama commit, Velo: 92-95 t97, Fastball: 50/60, Curveball: 50/60, Changeup: 35/50, Command: 35/50. 41. 62. Will Sanders (21.3), RHP, South Carolina 1 player among my "so who do you like more than everyone else?" "It's a dying breed. If you want every draft prospect compared to a big league star, I'm not your draft analyst. There's a nonzero chance that prospects from the conference are the first five players off the board come July, as they represent six of the top seven in my rankings right now. On the rosy side, he has a plus hit/power/pitch selection combo that has lots of history of hitting top arms with wood bats. He closed much better and has tools, but teams are wary. Roman Martin (18.9), SS, Servite HS (CA), UCLA commit 1 ranking for the first time in nearly two years after a 4-3 loss to Baylor on Feb. 19 . Henry Bolte (18.9), CF, Palo Alto HS (CA), Texas commit, Hit: 25/45, Game Power: 25/55, Raw Power: 65/70, Speed: 60/55, Field: 40/50, Throw: 50/50. 3. Ferris was right there with Dylan Lesko and Brandon Barriera pacing a historic group of prep arms entering the summer, but some other arms showed plus stuff more often over the past year. For those not familiar with my/FG's approach, we use empirical prospect values, then add them up and that's your farm system value, in dollars. Walker Jenkins (18.4), RF, South Brunswick HS (NC), North Carolina commit. Druw Jones (18.6), CF, Wesleyan HS (GA), Vanderbilt commit, Hit: 30/60, Game Power: 25/55, Raw Power: 50/60, Speed: 70/70, Field: 60/70, Throw: 70/70. Close. Soto has been up to 99 mph with plus stuff in the early going and could jump to being the second-best prep arm in the class within a few weeks. . This year, the Dodgers were ranked the No. 29. This, for my money, is the much more important aspect: how . He's making the big leagues, but I'm not positive it'll be as a starter. 98. 93. Fernando Tatis Jr. on Tuesday played his first game for the San Diego Padres in nearly 17 months. Let's keep things simple and focus on the positives: Johnson has the two traits that matter the most for a hitter. Follow on Twitter. 41m Kiley McDaniel. 22. Parker Messick (21.7), LHP, Florida State, Velo: 89-93 t95, Fastball: 45/50, Curveball: 45/50, Changeup: 55/60, Command: 45/55. Ryder Helfrick (18.4), C, Clayton Valley HS (CA), Arkansas commit . Ryan Lasko (21.0), CF, Rutgers 4. The Baltimore Orioles have the top prospect for the second year in a row, with third baseman Gunnar Henderson as . 5. Has worked for four MLB teams. His content appears regularly on ESPN.com, including analysis exclusive for ESPN+ subscribers. Tommy Troy (21.4), SS, Stanford 96. 31. The tool grades are almost identical to Marcelo Mayer from last year's draft, but Mayer has smoother actions, a little more physical projection and a longer track record of top tier performance. (Sound of the table being pounded), 16. 47. But it is a heater without bat-missing life to it, so he relies on the velocity and placement more than the movement. Jace is a lefty bat with a unique hand move that trades power for contact, and I think he's fringy but fine defensively at second and third base. Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. 32. 88. Scouts don't love what Melton does with his hands in his swing, but it works for now -- and he rakes. . Velo: 95-98 t100, Fastball: 65/70, Slider: 50/60, Command: 35/50. One position all 30 MLB teams have gotten right -- and what it means for 2023. 37. He's another big boom/bust prospect in this class. His Stanford commitment makes him a tough sign, but there are some similar elements to Kevin Parada at the same stage and a handful of teams are thinking about paying up to sign him. ESPN MLB Insider; Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. He's also a center fielder with real raw power. Hit: 30/45, Game Power: 35/60, Raw Power: 65/65, Speed: 45/45, Field: 40/45, Throw: 50/50. Pre-injury sat mid-90's, flashed ++ SL that may be coming as he stretches out. 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